Lumo 2 Review (Switch)

Somehow, almost ten years have passed since the original Lumo graced us with its presence. The original indie darling was a charming isometric platform game that encouraged players to explore its 400+ rooms while drawing on a host of nostalgic references from systems going all the way back to 8-bit computers such as the Spectrum and C64. It is still an original oddity with few other games choosing to go down the isometric nostalgia route, despite just about every other avenue of retro themed games being explored.

Lumo 2 keeps the viewpoint but moves the world from the 8-bit up to 16-bit. So now, instead of Solstice, you’ve got Equinox, and if you get that reference, we salute you. Referencing older video games is still very much the order of the day though and your familiarity with them will likely define how much you are going to enjoy the game. You explore Lumo’s world, collecting pickups and solving block and button-based puzzles, many of which involve taking on some sort of mini game.

To give you an idea of what you are getting into, the first of these is a pretty spot on recreation of some of the sections from Impossible Mission. A great homage for those that get it. For those that don’t though, we do wonder how long the interest will hold. There are other high profile retro classics references as well such as Prince of Persia, so just because you don’t get one doesn’t mean there’s nothing here for you.

The main areas of the game play well enough of course, as you move your character around avoiding the cute creatures trying to zap you. It’s perhaps a little slow and imprecise at times but there’s nothing particularly frustrating here as you jump around and pick up objects in an isometric space.

 You’ll gradually gain new skills such as a double jump which adds a very lite Metroidvania-esque elements as this often allows you to access new areas. There are not often multiple routes to go down though as, aside from some collectables, this is a largely linear experience, but then there isn’t really anything wrong with that. These skills do add more game elements to the main bulk of Lumo 2’s game world as well. It’s not all references to the 80’s as you’ll be jumping around and avoiding enemies in the main game world as well. Unlike the 80’s though, Lumo 2 is quite well balanced in terms of difficulty, and while it can be challenging, you’ll normally progress with some patience and forward thinking.

What is more impressive is that all the homages and changes in gameplay work well. The game never falls into frustration, and while it is relying heavily on nostalgia, it has also clearly had a lot of care and attention put in to make sure everything being referenced is also fun to play around with. This results in the player experiencing a continual loop of experiences that keep things fresh and also raise a smile.

Overall, Lumo 2 remains both nostalgic and fresh feeling. There is certainly enough here for players to enjoy even if they aren’t going to get all the references to games from the 8-bit computer era. For players old enough to remember though, or those who have tracked down these classic retro games it becomes much more of an unmissable title. If you liked the original game, you’ll likely love this as well and if by some way you’ve not played it then this won’t let you down either. It’s a fun, creative and reflective game that’s easy to like.

Overall 8/10

La Mulana (Switch Review)

La Mulana has been around for a long time. The Wii was the first console to get a port but now we can pull our hair out wherever we are with this portable version on the Switch. It may seem a strange choice but La Mulana is a perfect candidate for on the go gaming – even if it is still incredibly difficult.

For those unfamiliar with the game it follows an intrepid archaeologist as he drops into the legendary ruins of La Mulana. It’s a puzzle platform game in the purest sense with block pushing and weight placing high on the agenda. There’s lots of whipping, pinpoint platforming and traps galore. There are also massive great boss monsters and lots of death.

There’s no getting away from just how difficult the game is. Especially when you first start it can seem overwhelming and any hints at what to do are obscure to say the least. Once you break through the initial barriers things do get much better for players though. It took us about an hour and two wasted save files to really get going. The third time we started it all began to click and we would recommend any player to use a guide for the first couple of areas if you feel you aren’t getting anywhere.

Once we had gathered the warping Holy Grail, bought a symbol decoder from the shop and got past the first boss it became a much better adventure. It’s all about getting your head around what you need to do and once that happens it reveals itself to be an excellent platform adventure. By the time we reached the second proper area everything was fine and it felt we were really getting into it.

Level design is strong throughout with areas different enough from each other in terms of enemy type and design. There are fiendish puzzles and riddles to solve but the core dynamic is based around placing weights on pads to make things happen in the environment. Weights can be picked up on your adventure but it’s normally best to buy a hefty amount at the village shop before diving back into the depths.

Once you have the Holy Grail you can warp to any discovered Grail points which makes life a bit easier. We did have an issue with certain points disappearing from our warp list though – if this is a bug or something we haven’t worked out mechanics wise remains to be seen. There’s a host of different equipment and weapons to buy and you need to make sure you are well prepared to have any chance at all. What makes life even more difficult is that you don’t really know what order you should be attempting the areas (and you really do need to get through them in the right order to stand a chance).

Indeed, There is very little signposting at all. The first time we played  we didn’t even work out that each area needed to be completed and subsequently dived down as deep into the ruins as far as we could go and had to restart our save file as we just couldn’t get back to where we wanted to be. It's also slightly annoying that the game comes with borders either side of it. Making a Switch game and then not adjusting the port to the systems native aspect ratio is somewhat bizarre to say the least.

Overall, there’s no denying that La Mulana is both an excellent platform game and a great addition to the Switch catalogue. However, it is very tough and obscure at times. It’ll certainly appeal to the Spelunky and Super Meat Boy crowd but requires a more patient and thought-out approach.  If you stick with it you’ll find a great adventure game. Many though may well be put off by all the barriers it throws up for players and that’s a real shame.

Overall 7/10

La Mulana EX Review (PS Vita)

La Mulana has been around for a long time. The Wii was the first console to get a port but now we can pull our hair out wherever we are with this portable version on the Vita. It may seem a strange choice but La Mulana is a perfect candidate for on the go gaming – even if it is still incredibly difficult.

For those unfamiliar with the game it follows an intrepid archaeologist as he drops into the legendary ruins of La Mulana. It’s a puzzle platform game in the purest sense with block pushing and weight placing high on the agenda. There’s lots of whipping, pinpoint platforming and traps galore. There are also massive great boss monsters and lots of death.

There’s no getting away from just how difficult the game is. Especially when you first start it can seem overwhelming and any hints at what to do are obscure to say the least. Once you break through the initial barriers things do get much better for players though. It took us about an hour and two wasted save files to really get going. The third time we started it all began to click and we would recommend any player to use a guide for the first couple of areas if you feel you aren’t getting anywhere.

Once we had gathered the warping Holy Grail, bought a symbol decoder from the shop and got past the first boss it became a much better adventure. It’s all about getting your head around what you need to do and once that happens it reveals itself to be an excellent platform adventure. By the time we reached the second proper area everything was fine and it felt we were really getting into it.

Level design is strong throughout with areas different enough from each other in terms of enemy type and design. There are fiendish puzzles and riddles to solve but the core dynamic is based around placing weights on pads to make things happen in the environment. Weights can be picked up on your adventure but it’s normally best to buy a hefty amount at the village shop before diving back into the depths.

Once you have the Holy Grail you can warp to any discovered Grail points which makes life a bit easier. We did have an issue with certain points disappearing from our warp list though – if this is a bug or something we haven’t worked out mechanics wise remains to be seen. There’s a host of different equipment and weapons to buy and you need to make sure you are well prepared to have any chance at all. What makes life even more difficult is that you don’t really know what order you should be attempting the areas (and you really do need to get through them in the right order to stand a chance).

Indeed, There is very little signposting at all. The first time we played  we didn’t even work out that each area needed to be completed and subsequently dived down as deep into the ruins as far as we could go and had to restart our save file as we just couldn’t get back to where we wanted to be. It's also slightly annoying that the game comes with borders either side of it. Making a Vita game and then not adjusting the port to the systems native aspect ratio is somewhat bizarre to say the least.

Overall, there’s no denying that La Mulana is both an excellent platform game and a great addition to the Vita’s catalogue. However, it is very tough and obscure at times. It’ll certainly appeal to the Spelunky and Super Meat Boy crowd but requires a more patience and thought-out approach.  If you stick with it you’ll find a great adventure game. Many though may well be put off by all the barriers it throws up for players and that’s a real shame.

Overall 7/10

Muramasa Rebirth Review (PS Vita)

Originally launched on the Wii, the spiritual successor to the beautiful Odin Sphere is set in ancient Japan and follows the journey of two characters. You must pick from either Kisuke, a fugitive swordsman suffering from memory loss or Momohime, a princess possessed by an evil spirit and head out to find the many blades that will aid you to complete the characters respective quests.

The first thing that hits you about the game is that is looks and sounds stunningly beautiful. A 2D side scrolling fighter at heart the environments you explore are simply breath-taking. This is possibly the highest quality 2D art work we have ever seen and it looks magnificent on the Vita screen. From fields to waterfalls to cherry blossom groves the game will have players continually stopping to take screen shots to use as background wallpaper.

Complementing the visuals is a massively impressive soundtrack. Japanese strings and pipes swirl and play to build the atmosphere and create a truly magical environment for our two heroes to explore. In terms of presentation this is out of the top draw, which is a good thing as you're going to be seeing those environments repeatedly and for a fair amount of time.

Gameplay involves your character running through said lovely backdrops left and right and then being stopped by an enemy attack. When this happens a warning flashes up on screen and your character will draw their sword. What follows is normally a very swift and brutal fight against numerous attackers before a result screen is displayed and you move on. The swiftness of the combat manages to capture the samurai style atmosphere brilliantly. Your character never draws their sword unless a fight is about to happen and the swift nature of battles helps to keep momentum and the feeling you are a master swordsman going. As you progress thing get decidedly more difficult and bosses can easily crush players but it’s those fights out in the fields and roads that help build the atmosphere and feeling of ancient Japan perfectly.

Combat itself is flawlessly fluid. You have a mass of different moves available from the start and will need to get used to all of them, especially the blocks and parries, by the end of the game. You can create huge combos by air juggling and darting across the screen to the next foe and also switch between any of your three equipped swords on the fly to change momentum and style. 

Swords are what the game is all about and you can collect over a hundred of them, each with different characteristics. You have a sword gauge which when depleted will break the blade, so you need to be careful and quickly switch between them in battle. Swords will also flash and when this happens changing blade will unleash a special attack. A broken sword needs to be returned to their sheath to repair but will return to combat readiness over time.

The catch to this most beautiful looking and sounding game with precise and satisfying combat is repetition. This is a long game and you’re looking at getting into the thirty to forty hour mark to finish both quests properly with a decent amount of blades.  It’s not repetition of combat as such but the traveling from one side of the map to the other, often with little happening. This is offset somewhat by the beautiful backdrops but there isn’t much to find or that many people to talk to within the environments. As you wander through screen three or four of the same forest you’ll begin to want to just get on with it. It’s not a major issue as your characters move pretty swiftly but after a few hours you’ll want that quick travel option to open up as soon as possible.

It’s a fairly minor point in what is in the most part a stunning game. If you can look past the trudging back and forth you’ll find a game quite unlike any other with a unique look and style all of its own. It’s a game that looks like it was born to fit the Vita and the controls are far superior to those present in the Wii version. It’s a beautiful and dark Japanese folktale come to life and even though there are flaws we can’t help but love it for its fluid combat, magical sound and gorgeous visuals.

Overall 8/10